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My Little Decade

2000 was the decade of wonder, but not always in a good way, either. It was a decade of surprises, proving once again, that no one ever knows what’s next. It was the decade that the Internet took hold and changed the way we meet, do business and relate. Although it connected people globally, it also cost some people their jobs by cutting out the middleman.

Some researchers once conducted a study about the effects of television depravation. Those denied their usual TV time became moody, irritable and suffered from sleep loss. The same could be said of those deprived of their Internet usage. I know that without it, I become moody, irritable and suffer from blurred vision and start speaking in tongues.

That aside, it was the decade of 911proving once again how gullible my fellow Americans can be, judging by how quick we are to forgive and make nice to those who danced in the streets as the Twin Towers disintegrated in a heap of ash.

It was when illegal immigrants came out from the shadows and were proud to march at MacArthur Park and other locales and hurl bottles at the police. That any group would march and display their illegal activities is something that never would have occurred even during the rocking and raucous seventies. Then, there would have been people to march for them while they hid, but this is the decade that shame has taken a back seat while lawlessness and her twin, irresponsibility, have gotten to drive.

It was when we hit a brick wall financially speaking. The excess of the 90’s turned out to be a repeat of the gilded age of the 20’s, and when we crashed, we crashed hard. Of course, it was greed and stupidity on both sides that were partially to blame. Some people, especially those with no income or bad credit, just shouldn’t own property no matter what the liberals or the American dream says. Period, end of story.

Yes, it was the decade that we elected a biracial president who considers himself Black. I never thought it would happen, but that guy is so convincing and has so much confidence that he probably could have broken into the movie industry and passed himself off as a muscle head if he wanted.

For me, it was the decade I had to face the inevitable loss of a parent. Loss is never easy, and I know that my father would have rather I buried him rather than the other way around, but it still hurt and stung when the time came. But at least we had the chance to square things away and say what we wanted to say, and I at least had the chance to thank him for all he’d done for me and to tell him I loved him one more time. My advice to anyone would be the same. Say what you want to say now while you can because you just never know.